Chapter 1
If you do not know, O most beautiful among women…The Song of Solomon 1:8a – We have in the previous verses the woman doubting herself and the love between her and her beloved. She begins to reason why she isn’t with her lover at this time. Was it because of the way she looked? Was it because of the way her past was? She begins to be filled with this doubt of if the one she loves loves her back. Then comes the beloved reminding her how deeply he loves her over anything else shattering those doubts she once had. How often does our life with God mirror this? We begin to doubt God’s love because of something we did or something we think we are. We think we’ve ruined our chance at love with Him. Yet then He speaks and reassures us how deep His love for us is and how much He desires us over all creation. Church remember God sees you differently than how you see you or how you think your past defines you. God sees you through the lens of Jesus which means you’re and perfect and holy in His sight. If you begin to forget that, just begin to read the Word your Beloved wrote to you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 847
“I am very dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept!” Song of Solomon 1:5-6 – While in our days we see a dark tan as something desirable and people pay money to sit in tanning booths to darken their skin, in this time period the view was the opposite. If you had tanned skin that meant you must have been outside working fields rather than inside reclining as the wealthy did. The bride confesses her concern about how the groom will feel when he sees her skin, yet how did the groom react? He called her most beautiful among women. He took her greatest fear and spoke his truth into her story. Today you may be believing a lie about yourself. That God wouldn’t want you because of your past. That God would never forgive something that you’ve done. That God would rather have someone else other than you. You can choose to listen to those lies or you can choose to listen to the truth Jesus is speaking to you. You are seen, loved, and wanted by God. The actions and words of others, the ways you speak to yourself, and the ways our enemy moves is going to tell you the opposite of Jesus’ truth. Whose voice are you going to listen to? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1983
Chapter 2
My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away, for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.” The Song of Solomon 2:10-11 – God is speaking to you here and is asking you to come to Him. To step away from the temptations and sinful pleasures this world offers and turn to chase after Him instead. The part about winter and rain is Him sharing that all the things that once would have kept us away such as guilt or imperfection have gone away and are no longer a hinderance for us in coming to God. In short, God wants you and has taken care of everything that was in the way of you coming to Him. The only thing still left is for us to “arise.” He’s done it all, we must though make the choice to get up out of our sinful ways to follow Him instead. So today, what is God calling you to arise from? What needs to be stepped away from in your life so you can follow Him more closely? God’s made the way open, you just have to walk it. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 848
As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women. Song of Solomon 2:2 – I’ve gotten the chance to see some pretty amazing things with my own eyes. I’ve seen the beauty of the Grand Canyon. I’ve seen the vibrant colors in the hot pools of Yellowstone. I’ve see the layers of mountains in the Great Smokies. I’ve seen the rings of Saturn through a telescope and looked countless nights up at the stars. There are so many other beautiful things in this earth that I haven’t seen as well. Yet, even with all the beautiful things on earth and in Heaven, you know what Jesus choose to love most? Us. Like our passage describes, God’s love for us singles us out amongst all the other things of this world. He didn’t sacrifice Himself to be with the mountains or stars. He gave His all to be with us. Know your value to God. Don’t let anything or anyone else in your story strip away the value your Love has given you. You are worth more than anything to God and He loves you deeply. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1984
Chapter 3
Scarcely had I passed them when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me. The Song of Solomon 3:4 – We see her frantically searching for her beloved in the previous verses and in this one she finds him and refuses to let him go. For us when we walk through life without God and see how dark it can get when He’s not a part of our story, when told about the hope that He can bring our hearts begin frantically searching for Him. We realize God is the only thing that can save us from the life we’ve created for ourselves and the future we’re facing. When we see our life for what it is without God, it makes sense why those who deeply embrace God do so when they find Him. I hope you too see what your life looks like without God. It’s dark and lonely. Have the heart of the woman in our passage. Search deeply for God and embrace Him as you find Him. Refuse to let go and give yourself wholly over Him. This is what it looks like to be in a relationship with God. One where God is found by you and is embraced by you with a hold that refuses to let go. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 849
On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not. I will rise now and go about the city, in the streets and in the squares; I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not. Song of Solomon 3:1-2 – Here the maiden is having a dream, a nightmare even, of her laying in their marriage bed and waking up to find her love not with her. We see the fear and worry that overtakes her because the one she loves isn’t with her and she can’t find him. Know today when it comes to your relationship with Jesus, this sort of fear and worry never has to be a part of your life with Him. He’ll never leave you. He’ll never abandon you. He’ll always remain by your side. Sometimes our enemy will play dirty and seek to blind you from seeing your Savior right next to you. Sometimes we’ll choose our sin over Jesus and our focus will be so glued to our sin we miss Him standing next to us. It can sometimes seem He’s distant, but He never left our side. Today walk confidently knowing your Love is beside you. He is guiding your steps, protecting your path, and watching over you. Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you. Your Savior is with you today. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1985
Chapter 4
You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you. The Song of Solomon 4:7 – We have the king listing off an array of things he sees that are beautiful about his bride. What he closes that section with is how altogether lovely is his bride and that there isn’t any flaw in her. We need to be willing to listen to what God is saying to us in this passage. God see us as beautiful and sees us as flawless. For us that’s hard to accept sometimes. When we look in the mirror and look at our past, beautiful and flawless doesn’t always come up as our first thought to describe those things. For God though it is. Remember He sees you through Jesus’ sacrifice, not through the filter of all the wrong things you’ve done. You are beautiful to God and you are flawless to Him if you have a relationship with Jesus. Do you best today to rid your mind of any voice telling you you’re something different than what God is telling you that you are in scripture. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 850
Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful! Your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead. Song of Solomon 4:1 – You are beautiful to God and God wants all of you. Our chapter starts
with the groom stating the bride is beautiful, then he goes and lists different parts of her and how amazing she is. This showed the groom loved all of her and wanted all of her, not just a portion of her. When it comes to God know He doesn’t want just a portion of you. We can be tempted to think God wants our worship, money, and good parts only, but the rough spots and brokenness He wants kept back. This is so far from the truth. Yes God wants the good, cleaner parts of you but He wants just as much the broken, dirty parts. He wants all of you. He wants the stuff you’ve hidden from everyone your whole life. The parts that you’re most shameful of He wants. The parts others rejected about you He gladly accepts. He wants all of you. Is that though how you’ve been coming to Him? Or have you been keeping things back from Him because of fear or some other reason? Remember, God sees all, knows all, and still wants your all. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1986
Chapter 5
I had put off my garment; how could I put it on? I had bathed my feet; how could I soil them? The Song of Solomon 5:3 – So she’s laying in bed, ready to go to sleep when her beloved comes knocking at the door. Does she jump up with excitement to let him in? No, she remains in bed making excuses why not to get up. How often can this be our story. God comes knocking and our response is excuses rather than excitement. He wants us to start a life with Him yet we response with wanting to enjoy sin a little longer. He wants us to share His love with someone yet we response with fear. Know that God is here and He is knocking. How will you respond to a His call? Let’s take a break from the excuses to see what it’s like to answer His call with “Yes Lord send me” rather than “I’m not home try again later.” How much more enjoyable would it have been for her to just get up and open the door for her beloved? I love you, but Jesus loves you more. – Mac – Daily DEVO 851
What is your beloved more than another beloved, O most beautiful among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you thus adjure us? Song of Solomon 5:9 – What’s so special about your beloved that you search for him so hard and ask us so much about where he is? How is he better than any others around here or us? The bride was ready to list off how special her groom was and just how much better he was above all the rest. Are you? People are going to be confused with why you’re pursuing Jesus so deeply. They aren’t going to understand why you’d put Him first above all others in your life. They aren’t going to get why when there are so many other things in life in to pursue you choose Jesus over them all. When they ask you then why, are you ready? When they stop you and ask you what’s so special about this Jesus that you are giving up everything else to follow Him, are you ready to answer their question? Do you though think the level of your pursuit of Jesus would even make anyone wonder if you follow Him at all? If you are pursuing Jesus like we’re called to know people will see it in your life. If then this question gets asked of you, what’s so special about Jesus, be ready to answer them. Just like the bride in our passage, be ready to tell others about how amazing your Love is. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1987
Chapter 6
Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned, that we may seek him with you? The Song of Solomon 6:1 – At the end of chapter five the “others” ask her to describe her beloved and she’s goes into great detail about how amazing he is. At the end of her talk, the others want to help her find him. Why? Because after hearing about how amazing he was from her, they too wanted to see him and draw close to him. This is evangelism. We who know Jesus should be in a habit of telling people about how amazing and wonderful He is. When we share like that, we must know often their hearts will be moved to know Him like we know Him. They will want to know about Jesus. This all starts though with you sharing about Him. For they weren’t looking for the beloved before she told them about him and the people around us aren’t looking for Jesus before we tell them about Him. So with someone who doesn’t know about how amazing Jesus is, how could you help them know? Are you ready to lead them to their beloved? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 852
I went down to the nut orchard to look at the blossoms of the valley, to see whether the vines had budded, whether the pomegranates were in bloom. Before I was aware, my desire set me among the chariots of my kinsman, a prince. Song of Solomon 6:11-12 – As with much of this book, exactly what is being meant by this poetry we aren’t fully sure. What I can gather though from some studying in this is the bride has gone out into orchard, but not just to admire the blossoms but because she is downcast. Maybe because of the guilt of past actions or still feeling not enough for the groom. Yet, the groom comes for her and we see her desire for her groom fuel her as a chariot would to her love. Are you in the orchard yet not really looking at the blossoms? Maybe you’re there because of guilt of past actions or because you just don’t feel good enough to be in a life with Jesus. Today, hear this, Jesus is in the garden looking for you and inviting you close. Let go of the guilt, as hard as that may be. Listen and accept the words God says about you rather than the lies the enemy speaks over you. Know Jesus wants you to run to Him like we see the bride running to her groom. Find your peace in the arms of the God who loves you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1988
Chapter 7
I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me. The Song of Solomon 7:10 – He took on the form of a human. He took on the punishment of our sin. He died for us. He rose again and is giving us salvation freely. Our Beloved has made it overwhelmingly clear His desire is for us. God loves you and wants you. Don’t let the moments of struggles in life blind you to the overwhelming evidence that God has given to His love for us. If our enemy can get our eyes off that evidence we can loose our passion for living fully for Jesus. Our God loves us more deeply than anything and has chosen us above all other things. Keep that close to heart so it can be said of us we love God more than anything and has chosen Him above all other things. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 853
How beautiful and pleasant you are, O loved one, with all your delights! Song of Solomon 7:6 – Our passage once again has the groom listing off different aspects of the bride and how wonderful they are to him. I found myself at first seeking to wrap my brain around what each might mean in relationship to the church today. The nose must mean this and the belly must equal that. Yet a note I wrote years ago at the start of this passage reminded me to not get caught up in figuring all that out, let it simply remind you just how wholly beautiful God sees the church. Each part is beautiful to Him. Each part He desires. Each part has His love. God loves His church…the whole church. How about you? Do you love your Sunday school class? And the class next door? How about the attendees of the “other” service at your church? How about the rowdy teens? Or the older members you say are “stuck in their ways?” How about the members of the church down the street that are from a different denomination than yours? Do you love God’s church? No, not just a part, the whole church. How ridiculous would it be to come home and I tell my wife I love her eyes, but everything else about her I can’t stand. Learn to love the whole church like God loves it. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1989
Chapter 8
Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised. The Song of Solomon 8:7 – This book has been deeply showing the love between the church and God. How rich and full it is and how it satisfies all our desires. This verse is needed as a reminder that nothing else can satisfy like God’s love can. We can gather everything we can or be willing to give up all we have to find the same fulfilling of our desires that God gives in something other than Him. As though this verse ends, that pursuit would be utterly despised. It would come up empty. Pursue God then. If He is the only place we can find what we are looking for, why look elsewhere? Give Him your everything and see how He shows His love back. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 854
O you who dwell in the gardens, with companions listening for your voice; let me hear it. Song of Solomon8:13 – Here we have the groom speaking one final time in our passage to his bride, the one who dwells in the garden. As a commentary spoke on, what’s beautiful about the reason she is given this title is because she has been so cherished and loved by her husband she is as pleasant as a garden. Know when we allow God time in our day to pour out His love and cherish us like He so longs to do, we find ourselves in the same position as the bride, pleasant and growing. His love, joy, and compassion pour deeply out onto us and begins to overflow out onto then people we encounter. The care He puts into us strengthens us to care for others. We become pleasant, someone others long to have around. Yet remember it’s not because of our talents or gifts that is making us pleasant, it’s the overflow of what God is pouring into us onto them that is drawing them near. Be sure then you are finding time to be deeply poured into by God. If it’s His love and His care in our story that makes us pleasant like we are talking about today, let’s dwell deeply in Him so others can witness what sort of growth and care God can give them. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1990
Daily DEVO 